Back on track

Aug 16, 2018, 07:55 IST | Shunashir Sen

A music-themed eatery in Andheri has been re-launched, and we owe it a personal debt

The bar area. Pics/Satej Shinde

What song do you want to order?" we ask our partner while perusing the menu. "I'm easy. Why don't you choose?" she says, coldly. "Okay, what about [Bruno Mars'] Uptown Funk? It's got three cheeses and pepperoni." "You always order pepperoni pizza. I'm sick of it."

"Alright, [The Killers'] Mr Brightside, then? We haven't had a pizza with pineapple in it in a really long time." "You know I don't like barbecue chicken in my pizza. And I don't like The Killers either." "Fine, fine. Are you good with [The Rolling Stones'] Satisfaction? It's got all your favourites — ham, bacon and salami." "Hmm, okay, if you insist."

Meal for two

That's the sort of slightly ridiculous conversation we find ourselves having while placing our order at The Playlist Pizzeria on Veera Desai Road in Andheri. It's a Monday night, and we're treading on thin ice here since the partner still hasn't cooled off completely after a bit of a squabble. So we place a lot of hope on this re-launched eatery, since good food inevitably lifts her spirits. The restaurant had a branch in Bandra earlier, before it bit the dust early this year. But this time around, the proprietors have left no stone unturned in playing up the theme of music.

The ceiling with album art

The dishes named after song titles are one obvious result of that endeavour. But the interiors, too, reflect what's on the label. A huge cabinet behind the open bar, which is a new addition, is shaped like giant speakers, for example. The ceiling is covered entirely with album art. And a swanky record player takes pride of place in one corner as a substitute for a jukebox, presumably since it's less space-consuming.

None of these touches can effectively alleviate our delicate situation, however, and so we finish the process of ordering as quickly as possible, eventually getting a meal for two (not necessarily since it's the more romantic option, but also because, priced at `550, it's more value for money). You get a pizza, pasta and garlic bread as part of the deal. So, we ask for Satisfaction and spaghetti in white sauce as the preferred options, and also order a cocktail that, quite coincidentally, is named Stress Buster (Rs 300).

The garlic bread arrives first, and we watch the partner keenly as she takes a bite. Thankfully, she doesn't say anything, considering that she normally wastes no time in proclaiming a dish as "sh*t" if it doesn't strike her fancy. But we can feel the embers of her anger still burning deep within, and our heart turns even heavier when we take a bite of the spaghetti. The chef, unfortunately, has gone overboard with the corn flour in the sauce and added too much salt to boot. So, we send out a little prayer to the pizza gods, since it's the final hope of redeeming this outing.

stress buster

That prayer is heard, much to our delight. Satisfaction is a cracking pizza. Firstly, rarely have we come across a 7" one that has a genuinely thin crust. Secondly, the balance of meat is such that the ham, bacon and salami play equal parts in it. And thirdly, or most importantly, it's good enough for us to feel that the mood has lightened to a certain degree.

And that's when we strike while the iron's hot and come up with the genius idea of exploiting our surroundings. We are at The Playlist Pizzeria after all. So, why not request for a track on the LP that we know makes the partner go all fuzzy? We thus ask for the tablet that contains all the song options, hoping against hope that it has Daft Punk's Digital Love. It does! And when we press play, we find her breaking into a smile despite her best efforts. Which only means that we finally leave the place hand-in-hand having regained paradise, at least for the time being.

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